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Federal budget cuts known as sequestration are shutting down some Earth monitoring projects by the U.S. Geological Survey including stream gauges and snowpack measurement. So far, 50 storm gauges are being closed and 100 others may be at risk. Researchers worry the shutdown could affect climate-change studies.

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Researchers have identified the fungus-like infection that caused the potato blight in Ireland that spread in 1845 and started a famine that killed 1 million people. The ancient DNA of the pathogen was identified using high-tech DNA sequencing. "This strain was different from all the modern strains that we analysed -- most likely it is new to science. We can't be sure but most likely it's gone extinct," said Sophien Kamoun of the Sainsbury Laboratory in the U.K.

If mice fathers are indifferent to their babies, their sons will grow up to be just like dad. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison discovered that male babies will mimic their fathers instead of their mothers, who are often the sole caretakers of offspring. The study of nurturing patterns could provide a model for humans, said study co-author Catherine Marler.

A gravitational tug-of-war between the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud may be responsible for the huge ribbon of gas at the halo of the Milky Way. Astronomers in the U.S. and Germany measured how much oxygen and sulphur there is in the Magellanic Stream by looking at how they absorbed ultraviolet light coming from distant galaxies to form their conclusion that the ribbon of gas probably comes from both galaxies.

Researchers say the Allosaurus -- a smaller cousin of the Tyrannosaurus rex, fed on its prey similar to a modern falcon. Researchers at Ohio University used a computer model to create their findings. "Allosaurus was uniquely equipped to drive its head down into prey, hold it there, and then pull the head straight up and back with the neck and body, tearing flesh from the carcass ... kind of like how a power shovel or backhoe rips into the ground," said lead author Eric Snively.

An insect discovered in the Philippines has been informally dubbed the "pirate ant" because of a dark stripe over its eye that looks like an eye patch. Scientists say the formally named Cardiocondyla pirata is part of a species found from Thailand to the whole Indonesian-Malaysian region. The function of the odd eye patch is still not known.